


Instructions Not Included

by GenericHero



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cat Owners, Cats, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, SO MUCH FLUFF, Texting, get it it's a cat pun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 17:10:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17329091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenericHero/pseuds/GenericHero
Summary: Keith glanced back toward the front door of his apartment, half hoping the cat’s owner or someone would suddenly bang on the door and give him an explanation. But the door remained silent, and Keith sighed, turning back to the cat. She was now licking her paws, seemingly completely unconcerned with her new environment.“Don’t supposeyoucould explain what’s going on.”The cat looked up at him, her gold eyes studying his, then she dipped her head and coughed up a hairball at Keith’s feet.Keith wrinkled his nose. “Guess not.”---Keith ends up with an unexpected guest over the holidays.





	Instructions Not Included

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Aiden as part of a holiday exchange! I hope you like it and that you've had a great holiday season! <3
> 
> tysm to [Moira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterfells/pseuds/bleulily) for beta-ing this for me!! ily <3

Keith wasn’t really a holiday person.

It wasn’t anything against the season personally; it was just that college finals combined with extra shifts to keep up with the holiday season made his life a living hell that all the Christmas lights in the world couldn’t brighten.

Today had undoubtedly been the worst yet, with two midterms he had pulled an all nighter studying for and a hectic eight hour shift stacked on top, and Keith found that by the end of it he could barely manage to drag himself up the stairwell to his apartment.

He cursed under his breath as his keys slipped through his fingers, and he glared down at them for a moment before kneeling down to retrieve them. Part of him wanted to give up then and there, to let himself fall to the ground and spend the rest of the night sleeping facedown on the doorstep of his apartment, consequences be damned, but the thought of the warm bed lying beyond the door gave him the strength to pull himself to his feet again.

The door swung open with a too-loud creak and Keith tossed his keys on the kitchen countertop by the door before flicking the lightswitch. The small, two room apartment flooded with light, and Keith kicked the door closed behind him before making a beeline for the couch. He let his too-heavy backpack slip from his shoulders and it landed on the couch cushion with a squeak—

Keith froze, slowly turning around because  _since when do backpacks squeak._

He stared at the bag for a moment, and had just started to wonder if he was beginning to lose his grip on his sanity when the bag started  _moving._  

Keith took a step back, his hand instinctively moving to the pocket knife fastened to the back of his belt. The bag tipped over and landed on the ground, and several pens, pencils, and a small, fluffy, reddish-brown object tumbled out.

The fluffy object looked up at Keith with wide golden eyes and let out a mewling squeak. Keith relaxed, letting his hands fall to his sides and lowering himself onto his knees.

“Uh, hello,” he said, cautiously offering his hand palm-up to the small cat. The cat studied his hand for a moment before slowly uncurling herself and taking a few tentative steps towards Keith. She sniffed his hand, her cold nose and prickly whiskers brushing against Keith’s fingertips, then sat back on her haunches, giving Keith a thoroughly unimpressed look.

Keith frowned. “Well, nice to meet you too.” He glanced back toward the front door of his apartment, half hoping the cat’s owner or  _someone_ would suddenly bang on the door and give him an explanation. But the door remained silent, and Keith sighed, turning back to the cat. She was now licking her paws, seemingly completely unconcerned with her new environment.

“Don’t suppose  _you_ could explain what’s going on.”

The cat looked up at him, her gold eyes studying his, then she dipped her head and coughed up a hairball at Keith’s feet.

Keith wrinkled his nose. “Guess not.”

 

\---

 

The next morning brought with it a downpour of rain. Windshield wipers flicked across the windows of Keith’s truck as he pulled up in front of Shiro’s apartment, then stilled as he cut the engine. The cat lie curled up in the passenger seat, her ears perked up in curiosity as she watched the windows. She uncurled herself and stood up as Keith stepped out of the car, and he dashed to the passenger side door as quickly as he could, ducking his head against the pouring rain. He pulled the door open and tucked the cat under the side of his red leather jacket, wincing as her claws dug into his arm. She let out a low rumble of annoyance, her ears pressed back against her head as she surveyed the rain-soaked world around her.

“Oh, stop complaining. At least  _you_ have cover,” Keith grumbled, grimacing as the rain soaked through his boots. His teeth started to chatter as he came up to Shiro’s apartment and he ducked under the overhang, tapping the doorbell three times in quick succession. A few moments passed before the sound of footsteps drew closer and the door swung open. Shiro stood in the doorway, looking as though he had just woken up, with his dark hair sticking up in odd places and his hand rubbing over his eyes.

“Shiro, I need your help,” Keith said.

“Well, good morning to you too.”

“Good  _morning,_ Shiro.”

“Good morning. You really need to invest in an umbrella.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “You have the night shift today, right?”

“Right? Why...” Shiro’s gaze shifted down to the small cat peeking out of the side of Keith’s jacket and his eyes widened. “Since when do you have a cat?”

“Since… yesterday? I sort of... found her, and I’m going to try to find her owner after work today, but I’m not sure when I’ll be back and I’m worried about leaving her alone. So could you watch her until I get back?”

Shiro’s gaze darted from the cat to Keith’s face and back again, then he let out a sigh. “Fine. On one condition.”

“What condition?”

Shiro retreated back into the apartment, motioning for Keith to follow. Keith stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind him, shifting the cat in his arms into a more comfortable position for both of them. He had only taken a few steps into the apartment when Shiro threw an oversized black wool jacket at his face.

“You’re wearing that. I don’t care if it ruins your aesthetic or whatever, it’s better than getting pneumonia and dying. Rain’s just going to ruin leather anyway.”

Keith pulled the jacket off of his head with his free hand, sending Shiro a scowl.

“And you’re taking this too,” Shiro said, handing Keith an equally oversized black umbrella.

“I’m  _fine._ Stop worrying.”

“I’m your brother. It’s my  _job_ to worry about you. Especially when you show up on my doorstep in the middle of the night looking like a drowned rat.”

“It’s seven in the morning.”

“My point stands. Do you want coffee?”

Keith nodded, giving Shiro a sheepish ‘thank you’ as he lowered the cat onto the floor and pulled the wool jacket over his head.

“Your, ah…  _friend_ here wouldn’t happen to come with a litter box, would she?” Shiro asked as he made his way to the kitchen, watching warily as the cat sniffed around the apartment.

Keith shook his head. “I haven’t had the chance to pick up stuff for her yet. I’ve just been walking her.” Well, perhaps “walking” was too gratuitous a term, as both of their “walks” had ended up with Keith carrying around what he was quickly realizing to be the world’s biggest drama queen.

“What time do you have to get in today?” Shiro asked as Keith took a seat on the couch.

“Seven forty-five,” Keith said, glancing at his watch and relaxing as he realized he still had time to spare. He leaned back on the couch, sinking into the cushions, and his eyes wandered over the dozens of pictures decorating the shelves surrounding Shiro’s TV. Most of them were of either Keith and Shiro, Shiro and his fiancé, or all three of them together.

“Is Adam at work?” Keith asked.

“Yeah, he left about a half hour ago.”

Keith hummed in acknowledgement, his eyes catching on a photo of Shiro with his arm around Adam’s shoulder, both of them mid-laugh. Keith liked to tease Shiro about how sappy they were around each other, but Keith was happy for them, and deep down part of him wondered what it would be like to have something like that.

Keith shook his head, breaking himself out of his thoughts. He let out a quiet yelp as the cat jumped onto his lap, her claws digging into his thighs. She stared up at him expectantly, then curled up into a ball as Keith started to stroke her russet fur.

“Try not to give Shiro too much trouble, okay?” Keith murmured quietly. “That’s my job."

“Hey!”

Keith’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Love you, Shiro.”

 

\---

 

“Keith." 

A hand waved in front of Keith’s face and he blinked, raising his head. Allura was standing next to him, her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised expectantly.

“Oh. Hey, ‘Llura,” Keith said.

“Don’t ‘hey Allura’ me, this is the third time today you’ve almost fallen asleep on your feet.”

“Sorry,” Keith mumbled, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

Allura’s lips pursed, her brows drawing together in worry. “Have you been getting enough sleep?”

“Not really.”

Allura opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a frantic-looking customer asking her if the store had any Christmas trees left. Allura led the customer away, sending Keith an apologetic smile, which he returned before going back to stocking holiday ornaments.

Most days, Keith didn’t mind his job. The work itself wasn’t too bad, and his coworkers, Allura and Coran, were easy to get along with and had a knack for swooping in before Keith lost his cool with particularly unreasonable customers. But the holiday season turned working retail into a living nightmare, and these days more often than not Keith found himself silently begging for the day to be over.

Fortunately, this morning had been surprisingly quiet so far, but Keith was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. He let out a tired sigh, moving on from the ornaments and picking up a couple of misplaced rolls of wrapping paper before moving to the next aisle.

He blinked.

There, lying face-down in the middle of the aisle, was a man.

“Can I… help you?” Keith asked, his voice cracking on the last syllable. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone else was around, wondering if he should call the paramedics or something.

But the man, who Keith realized was actually a boy about his age, jolted at the sound of Keith’s voice, and let out a shriek as he hastily scrambled to his feet. His eyes widened in recognition as they landed on Keith, and his face and the tips of his ears flushed red. Keith’s eyes scanned over the boy’s face— brown tousled hair, dark skin dotted with freckles, sharp, stormy blue eyes— and Keith realized he recognized him as well. The boy’s name escaped Keith— he thought it was Taylor or something, something that started with a T, but he couldn’t be sure— but Keith knew they shared a class together at Altea University.

“You—!” the boy— Taylor?— shrieked, jabbing a finger at Keith’s chest. Keith frowned at him in confusion, wondering what he had done to warrant such a reaction. “What are you doing here!?” Taylor demanded.

Keith raised his eyebrows incredulously. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I— I asked first! Don’t change the subject!"

“I… work here?” Keith tapped the name tag pinned to his vest. Taylor’s eyes darted between that, the rolls of wrapping paper under Keith’s arm, and finally landed back on Keith’s face.

“Of course you do,” Taylor muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“...Excuse me?" 

“Just— forget it. Go back to perming your mullet or whatever.”

“I don’t—”

“Hasta la later, Keith!” Taylor gave him a small salute before he sprinted down the aisle and disappeared around the corner, leaving Keith standing there, dumbfounded.

 

\---

 

Once Keith had finished stocking the aisle, he made his way back to the front of the store in search of Allura. He found her working behind the cash register, and was about to walk over when Taylor stepped out from behind one of the aisles, his hands tucked in the pockets of his faded greenish-brown bomber jacket as he approached the register.

Keith stopped in his tracks, hesitating a moment before pretending to rearrange the display on the end of the aisle near him, not wanting to incite another… whatever had happened before. But it didn’t take long for his eyes to drift back to where Taylor and Allura were standing. Taylor asked Allura something, but Keith was too far away to make out what it was. Allura’s eyes widened and she shook her head, her brows drawn together as she gave a response.

Keith forced himself to pull his gaze away and focus on pretending to rearrange the colorful foot baths on the shelf. He heard footsteps approach and glanced up for a heartbeat as Taylor walked away from the register. Keith couldn’t help but notice that Taylor looked crestfallen, with his eyes downcast and his shoulders hunched up near his ears, and Keith bit his lip, wondering if he should say something. But then he mentally shook himself, reminding himself that it was none of his business and that he definitely didn’t care.

Once Taylor was out of sight again, Keith started towards Allura, wondering if it would be too out of place for him to ask what all that had been about. But before he could reach her, he was stopped by a tall man with bright orange hair and a large mustache.

“Keith, my boy, would you mind helping me out back?” Coran asked.

“I— sure, no problem.” Keith followed after Coran, making a mental note to ask Allura when he had a moment later.

But the moment never came, and as the day went on, Keith’s strange interaction with Taylor was pushed to the back of his mind and all but forgotten.

 

\---

 

Lance pushed the door to his and Hunk’s apartment open, his internal turmoil ebbing somewhat as he was met with the smell of fresh-baked cookies. He grabbed one off of the counter as he passed through the kitchen, then made his way towards the sound of the TV coming from the living room. His stomach twisted as he caught sight of the packed suitcases stacked near the front of the living room, and he quickly looked away.

Hunk was sitting on the couch with his computer on his lap, but he looked up as Lance entered and set the computer on the edge of the coffee table. As soon as Hunk’s computer was out of the line of fire, Lance draped himself lengthwise over the couch, with his stomach on Hunk’s lap and his face smushed into a pillow.

“No luck?” Hunk asked.

“No,” Lance said, his voice muffled by the pillow. “I looked  _everywhere._ No one’s seen her. And as if this day couldn’t get any worse, I humiliated myself in front of  _Keith._ ” 

“Keith?” Hunk repeated. “What happened?”

“Okay, so like, I was checking under the aisles because maybe Red was hiding under one of them, you know?” Lance said, lifting his head and gesturing with his hands as he talked. “So I’m there, like, practically lying facedown on the ground in the middle of the aisle, and of course  _right then—”_

“Oh no.”

“Oh  _yes!”_ Lance glared at the wall, crossing his arms over the pillow and resting his chin on top of them. “So now he probably thinks I’m a total weirdo. Hunk, I’m gonna die of embarrassment.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s, like, not a thing that actually happens,” Hunk replied, but nonetheless he rubbed Lance’s back soothingly.

“Well, it’s going to be! R.I.P. Lance McClain, he died as he lived— a bisexual disaster.” 

Hunk let out a long, exasperated sigh that was, in Lance’s opinion, completely unwarranted. 

“Of course it had to be Keith. Of  _course._ And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he— he had his freaking  _mullet_ in a  _ponytail,_ Hunk. Like, is that even allowed?” Lance let out a sigh, biting his lip and picking at the seam of the pillow. “Man, what are we gonna  _do?”_

“Wait… about Keith, or…”

“No.  _Red.”_  

“Ohhh. Well, we can put up lost posters?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Lance frowned, his shoulders slumping. “Man, this all my fault. If I hadn’t—”

“Hey, none of that self-depreciating nonsense,” Hunk interrupted. “Like, okay, maybe sneaking a cat into a department store wasn’t your  _best_ idea, but everyone makes mistakes. We’ll figure this out.”

“ _How?”_ Lance asked, despair creeping into his voice. “We’re both leaving tomorrow morning, and Mamá will   _kill_ me if I miss my flight.”

“Let’s just start with the posters, okay?” Hunk said, patting Lance’s back sympathetically. “We’ll keep looking. We’ll do everything we can.”

“Yeah. Okay,” Lance agreed.

 

\---

 

It was late afternoon by the time Keith made it back to Shiro’s apartment. The rain still hadn’t let up by then, so Keith held the oversized umbrella over his head as he walked up to the door. He tapped on the doorbell and only had to wait a couple seconds before it was answered, not by Shiro, but by Adam.

“Takashi wanted me to tell you, and I quote, ‘you owe me big time,’” Adam said.

“Uh oh. What happened?”

“Your little friend destroyed his favorite pair of slippers.”

“Not the lion ones.”

Adam nodded solemnly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Adam, he’s gonna kill me.”

“My condolences.” Adam moved to the side to let Keith in, and Keith pulled his umbrella closed and shook it out before stepping inside.

“Is he at work now?” Keith asked.

Adam nodded. Almost immediately, Keith caught sight of the russet cat striding towards him, and she rubbed against his legs with a purr. He knelt down to stroke her head and she leaned into the touch, then stood up on her hind legs, kneading her front paws against Keith’s leg.

“Okay, okay,” Keith mumbled, scooping her up into his arms and standing up to find Adam giving him a strange look. “What?”

“She’d never let Takashi or I pick her up,” Adam said, and if Keith didn’t know any better, he might’ve thought he heard a note of envy in Adam’s voice.

Keith looked down at the purring ball of reddish-brown fluff in his arms. “Huh,” he said, continuing down the hallway to the living room and— “Oh my god.”

Various cat toys were strewn around the living room floor, complete with a three-story cat tree near the couch, food and water trays, and a litter box.

“Takashi and I went shopping before he left for work,” Adam explained, moving to stand beside Keith. “We, ah… may have gotten a bit carried away.”

“You didn’t have to,” Keith said, stepping forward to inspect the cat tree. “I’ll pay you guys back for this stuff.”

“There’s really no need. You see, we—”

Keith jumped back with a yelp as a small fluffy face appeared at the top of the cat tree. He whipped around to face Adam, who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“We may have gotten…  _very_ carried away.”

Keith turned back to the cat tree, tentatively offering his hand to the large black and white cat that occupied it.

“Her name is Kuro, and she’s an absolute sweetheart,” Adam said, taking a step forward and scratching Kuro behind the ear. “Takashi’s heart melted when he saw her; we knew we couldn’t leave without taking her with us.”

Kuro leaned forward, sniffing Keith’s hand before giving it a lick, her rough tongue brushing against his fingertips. The russet cat in Keith’s arms squirmed, letting out a meow and flicking one of her ears back, clearly offended with not being the center of attention.

“She even gets along with your temperamental friend here,” Adam added, rubbing the russet cat’s head.

Keith looked down at her, feeling his light mood falter. “I should probably get back,” he said quietly. “I still have to find her owner.”

“Alright. Good luck,” Adam said, then he clapped his hands together.“Wait, wait, hold on a sec.” He disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, then reappeared with his arms full of cat supplies. “We got spares. I’ll help you carry these out.”

“You really didn’t have to—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Adam said. “Get Takashi another pair of slippers and we’ll call it even.”

Keith opened his mouth to protest, then let out a resigned sigh and nodded. They walked out to the car together, and once everything was packed away, Keith bid Adam farewell.

“Feel free to bring her by again tomorrow,” Adam said through the passenger side window as Keith pulled the seatbelt across his chest. “Takashi and I both have evening classes, so it’s no trouble. Kuro seems to like having a playmate anyways.”

“Thanks. For everything,” Keith said.

Adam grinned in response, reaching through the window to ruffle the russet cat’s fur. “Drive safely. And I mean that. I’ve seen the way you drive.”

Keith rolled his eyes and waited until Adam was back on the curb of the sidewalk before he pulled away. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he waited for an opening on the intersection, and his gaze drifted to the cat in the seat beside him. She had curled herself into a ball again, but she lifted her head to meet his eyes as he watched her, her head tilting to the side.

Keith forced himself to look away, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel.

 _Don’t get attached,_ he reminded himself.   _It’s only temporary._

 

\---

 

Keith made his way to work the next afternoon with the “found” posters he had printed the night before tucked under his arm. It was still drizzling a bit, so he carried Shiro’s umbrella to keep the posters from getting ruined. His pace slowed as he approached the entrance to the Olkari department store, and he let his backpack slip off of his shoulders. He rummaged through it for the roll of tape he had packed earlier, but while he focused on that, his grip on the posters loosened enough that a strong gust of wind was enough to pull them free.

“No, no, no,” he growled, heaving his backpack over his shoulder as he chased after the posters. While most of them didn’t go far, they landed in a muddied heap on the rain-soaked ground, and Keith cursed under his breath as he retrieved them.

Once he had collected all of the posters he could find, Keith made his way back to the store’s entrance with his shoulders slumped in defeat. He had come in a half hour earlier to give himself time to put up the posters, and he was in the middle of wondering if he’d have time to make it back home and print more when his gaze caught on a bright blue sign pinned to a lamp post near the store’s entrance.

 

_Missing Cat_

_Answers to the name “Red”_

_Huge reward!!!!_

_Please call xxx-xxx-xxxx_

 

And there, in the middle of the poster, was a photo of the small russet cat Keith had found in his bag two days ago.

 _Red._  

Keith quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the phone number, then made his way back to the store’s entrance, dumping the ruined posters in the recycling bin on the way.

He flicked the lights on as he entered, then re-locked the door behind him, hoping that no customers would get the idea to bang on the door to try to get him to open before hours. He sat down at the register and pulled his phone out of his pocket, then entered the number on the poster in his messages.

He bit his lip as he typed out a message, then hesitated a moment before deleting the text and starting again, and again. He stared at the words for a moment, then tapped the send button and pushed the phone away.

 

_12:37pm_

_Keith: Hey uh, I found your cat_

 

He waited for a moment, drumming his fingers on the desk, and had just convinced himself to try to forget about it and start setting up when the phone lit up with a ding. Keith hesitated again, eyeing the phone warily, and as he picked it up a second message appeared beneath the first.

 

_Unknown number: OMG YOU FOUND RED???  
_ _IS SHE OK??_

_Keith: Yeah, shes fine. My brother’s watching her. I’m at work right now but I can give you the address?_

_Unknown number: OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW WORRIED IVE BEEN_

 

Keith’s mouth twitched into a small smile, even as he felt his heart sink as he realized he probably wouldn’t even get to say goodbye. He let out a sigh and started typing in the address, but paused as another message came through.

 

_Unknown number: Ok so uh_  
_there’s kind of a bit of a problem_  
_My roommate and I are out of town right now for the holidays and I’m really, REALLY sorry to ask this but do you think you can watch her until we get back? I’ll pay you for your time, and for finding her too of course  
_ _again I’m really really sorry to have to ask this, I didn’t want to leave without knowing if Red was safe but my mamá paid for my ticket and she’d kill me if I didn’t take it_

_Keith: Yeah it’s fine, don’t worry  
_ _besides apparently my brother has a cat now too so looking after one more probably won’t be too much of a big deal_

_Unknown number: apparently?_

_Keith: After I asked him to watch Red he went out to buy cat food and came back with another cat_

_Unknown number: OH MY GOD_  
_Ok you know what I really shouldn’t be laughing I would probably do the same thing if my roommate wasn’t there to stop me  
_ _anyways, thank you so much again, you’re a lifesaver_

_Keith: no problem_

 

_\---_

 

_9:24 pm_  
_Keith: (image sent)  
_ _here she is, giving me a dirty look because dinner was five minutes late_

_9:32pm  
_ _Red’s owner: MY BABY!!!! awww please give her a scratch on the head for me :’)_

_Keith: roger that_  
_(image sent)  
_ _and here’s my brother’s cat Kuro_

_Red’s owner: GASP!!!  
_ _AN ANGEL_

_Keith: Don’t let Red hear you say that, she’ll get jealous_

_Red’s owner: oh yeah lol, she’s a total jelly bean_  
_So how has your day been going, uhhh  
_ _what should I call you?_

_Keith: Keith_

_Red’s owner: WHA;F’/-09/_

_Keith: ???_

_Red’s owner: SORRY I UH_  
_dropped my phone_  
_ok ok hold on  
_ _you wouldn’t happen to go to Altea university would you??_

_Keith: yeah?_

_Red’s owner: astrology with professor Iverson???_  

_Keith: Do I know you??_

_Red’s owner: uh yeAH  
_ _the name’s Lance?_

 

Keith frowned, his brows furrowing as he looked at the name and tried to remember a face to match with it, but he was drawing a blank. He bit his lip as he tried to think of a response, absentmindedly jerking a bright pink polyester feather on a string over Shiro’s living room floor while Red chased after it.

 

_Keith: I’m sorry? I don’t remember you_

_Red’s owner: r u serious??  
_ _You know??? Keith and Lance, neck and neck? we’re like rivals dude_

_Keith: I have no idea what you’re talking about_

_Red’s owner: woW OK_  
_OK OK COOL COOL  
_ _so thats how we’re gonna play this huh_

_Keith: play what?_

_Red’s owner: I’m sorry, did you say something.  
_ _I couldnt hear over the sound of COMPLETE AND UTTER BETRAYAL_

_Keith: THAT’S NOT A SOUND AND I DIDN’T BETRAY YOU_

_Red’s owner: Read 9:41 pm_

_Keith: Why did you type that out_

_Red’s owner: Read 9:42 pm_

_Keith: LANCE_

_Red’s owner: How do I know youre not just gonna up and forget about Red too??_

_Keith: I’m not gonna forget Red!_

_Red’s owner: how can I believe that when you’ve already forgotten the most important person in your life??_

_Keith: WE HAVE ONE CLASS TOGETHER_

_Red’s owner: OUR DESTINIES HAVE BEEN INTERTWINED BY THE STARS_

_Keith: wow that’s uh_

_Red’s owner: YOU KNOW  
_ _LIKE AS RIVALS_

_Keith: of course._

_Red’s owner: anyways you never told me how your day is going_

_Keith: ??? I thought you were mad at me_

_Red’s owner: oh I am but I can multitask_

_Keith: That doesn’t even make sense_

_Red’s owner: ok u know what forget it I’m gonna go talk to a door instead. so, door, how has your day been going_

_Keith: you’re still texting me though??_

_Red’s owner: rivalry ended with Keith, now this door is my only friend_

_Keith: wait so are we rivals or are we friends_

_Red’s owner: I don’t know I’m still mad at you_

_Keith: If I tell you about my day will that make you happy?_

_Red’s owner: hmm  
_ _maybe_

_Keith: alright…  
_ _well it wasn’t great to be honest, I mean the morning wasn’t bad but my job hates me and the holiday season is a nightmare_

_Red’s owner: ohhh yeah I feel that :/ I’m sorry man_

_Keith: thanks  
_ _But yeah it’s over now and I have the next couple days off so there’s that. now I’m just staying at my brother’s apartment watching Red and Kuro because he and his fiancé have classes_

_Red’s owner: ohhh do they go to Altea University too?_

_Keith: yeah but they’re teachers_

_Red’s owner: NICE what classes do they teach?_

_Keith: Shiro’s in astrology and Adam’s in engineering_

_Red’s owner: WHOA WHOA WAIT WAIT_  
_SHIRO_  
_LIKE AS IN PROFESSOR SHIROGANE???  
_ _IS YOUR BROTHER????_

_Keith: Yeah??  
__well I mean technically adoptive brother but yeah_  

_Red’s owner: OH MY GOD DUDE  
_ _THAT GUY IS MY HERO_

_Keith: yeah he’s pretty great  
_ _But don’t tell him I said that or I’ll never hear the end of it_

_Red’s owner: oh I am absolutely telling him you said that_

_Keith: :(  
_ _so uh. how has your day been going_

_Red’s owner: good good! It’s nice seeing my family again but I’m kind of exhausted now lol. so I snuck up to my room to watch cheesy holiday romcoms until I fall asleep  
_ _what about you, got any plans for the holidays?_

_Keith: Not really, but I’m sure Shiro will pull me into something_  
_Speaking of which, he just walked in the door, I should probably go now  
_ _but I’ll talk to you later if you want?_

_Red’s owner: Yeah definitely!  
_ _goodnight Keith_

_Keith: Goodnight Lance_

 

_\---_

 

_11:48 pm_  
_Lance: Keith_  
_Keeeeith_  
_buddy_  
_my man  
_ _I need to ask you something super important_

_Keith: Lance it’s the middle of the night  
_ _when I asked if you wanted to talk later this isn’t exactly what I had in mind_

_Lance: :-(_

_Keith: ok fine what_

_Lance: what is your opinion on grapefruit_

_Keith: I’m turning my phone off_

_Lance: NO WAIT DON’T LEAVE ME_  
_As my cat guardian it is your moral obligation to defend my honor  
_ _I say it’s an abomination but Hunk likes it for some ungodly reason_

_Keith: Who’s Hunk?_

_Lance: my roommate and bff for life_

_Keith: bff for life? Isn’t that kind of redundant?_

_Lance: EXCUSE you Keith, what Hunk and I have is SPECIAL  
_ _so grapefruit yay or nay_

_Keith: it’s ok  
_ _I’m going to sleep_

_Lance: HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME KEITH  
_ _WE HAD A BONDING MOMENT_

_Keith: Read 11:51 pm_

_Lance: oh you DID NOT JUST!!!_

_Keith: ;) goodnight Lance_

_Lance: DON’T WINKY FACE ME THIS IS SERIOUS GET BACK HERE_

_Keith: sorry, you’re cutting out_

_Lance: KEITH WE’RE TEXTING_  

_Keith: I— an’t —r you :(_

_Lance: KEITH_  
_omg he’s dead  
_ _rip_

_Keith: Lance go to sleep_

_Lance: sometimes I can still hear his voice :’-(_

 

\---

 

When Keith woke up the next morning, Red’s spot at the foot of his bed was empty. Keith rolled over, untangling his legs from his blanket and swinging them over the side of the bed. He rubbed this hand over his eyes as he looked over the room, but there was no sign of Red anywhere.

Keith stretched his arms over his head as he entered the living room, scanning over the food dish, the litter box, the couch— all of Red’s usual hangouts. But they came up empty, and Keith was just on the verge of panicking when he caught sight of her lying near the front door, her ears perked up as she watched it expectantly.

“Red?” Keith said, walking over and crouching down near her. She glanced back at him with a meow as he settled down, then turned back to watching the door as though she expected it to swing open at any minute.

Keith stood up and pulled it open, but the stairwell beyond it was empty. Red peeked her head out the door and let out a soft, desolate sounding meow before retreating back into the apartment and returning to her spot in front of the door.

Keith sighed, rubbing his hand along her back. “You miss him, don’t you?”

Red let out a low rumble in response, lowering her head onto her paws, keeping her gaze on the front door.

“Don’t worry,” Keith said, scratching her behind the ears. “He’ll be back soon, I promise.”

 

\---

 

_6:28 pm  
_ _Lance: heyyy_

_Keith: hey Lance. what’s up?_

_Lance: I’ve been thinking and like… I know I can be too much sometimes so if I’m bothering you just feel free to tell me and I’ll back off_

_Keith: What?? What are you talking about? You’re not bothering me. Are you okay?_

_Lance: you sure? it’s ok to tell me if I am. and yeah I’m fine_

_Keith: I’m sure. You’re not too much. I like talking to you_

_Lance: yeah?_

_Keith: yeah :)  
_ _now tell me what’s wrong_

_Lance: nothing’s wrong._

_Keith: hmmm :/_

_Lance: KEEEITH_

_Keith: :///_

_Lance: I mean it, nothing’s wrong. just you know. one of those days  
__I don’t know sometimes I just worry that I’m annoying people and that I should just, I don’t know, stop talking or something_  

_Keith: you’re not annoying and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise  
_ _and I know I’m not great at talking but if you ever need someone to talk to I’m here_

_Lance: wow uh. thanks man_  
_that really means a lot  
_ _and I’m here if you ever need to talk too ok??_

_Keith: thanks :)_

 

_\---_

 

Talking to Lance became… a  _thing_ after that. Over the next few days, Keith got used to talking to Lance until he fell asleep, and having his phone light up with funny pictures at random intervals during the day that usually made him crack up at inopportune moments. Talking to Lance just felt so   _easy,_ and cheered Keith up from even his worst days.

But Keith knew better than most that all good things must come to an end, and while a part of him kind of (desperately) couldn’t wait to talk to Lance in person, he knew that things wouldn’t be the same after that. Lance would have Red back, and maybe he and Keith would talk every once in a while, maybe they’d have another class together, but otherwise they’d go their separate ways.

Keith didn’t want it to end. He wanted  _more,_ but he wasn’t sure how to ask for it. He wasn’t even sure if he   _should_ ask for it. So every day he tried to prepare himself for when he’d have to say goodbye, and cursed himself silently for getting attached.

Keith sighed as he sank down on the couch. Red was curled up watching the front door again, but once Keith sat down she sauntered over and jumped into his lap. Keith stroked her fur absently as he pulled out his phone, then let out a yelp as she whirled around and chomped down on his hand.

“What was that for?” Keith demanded, scowling at her. She blinked at him innocently and started cleaning herself, her tail swaying back and forth slightly. Keith let out a huff and pulled up the messages on his phone.

_5:47 pm  
_ _Lance: hey are you free tonight? I have an idea_

_6:03 pm  
_ _Keith: yeah, what’s up?_

_Lance: ok so like, I’m getting back on Friday so the next few days are gonna be pretty hectic for me and I’m probably not going to be able to talk a lot, so since this is the last day I’m free I was thinking maybe we could do something special_

_Keith: Like what?_

_Lance: maybe we could videochat and stream a movie together or something?_

 

Keith stared at the last message, his heart leaping to his throat at the thought of finally getting to see Lance.

 

_Keith: yeah that sounds good_

_Lance: Really?_

_Keith: yeah_

_Lance: Cool :-) what time works for you?_

_Keith: Maybe in like 30 minutes?_

_Lance: sounds good!_

 

_6:35  
_ _Lance: you ready?_

 

Keith was very much  _not_ ready, if he was perfectly honest, but he agreed anyways, his heart pounding against his chest as he followed Lance’s instructions to set up the video chat.

Keith’s first thought as he pulled up the screen was  _oh no he’s hot,_ because apparently he needed another reason to be head over heels for Lance. His second thought was   _wait a second,_ because the boy on the other side of the screen was—

“Taylor?”

Taylor stared at him, his brows drawing together in confusion. “What?" 

“You’re— what— what’s your name?” Keith asked, fairly certain his brain had just short-circuited.

Taylor— Lance?— stared at him in exasperation, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline. “Uh… Lance? You know? The guy you’ve been talking to for the last week or so?”

“Oh my god,” Keith groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Lance laughed nervously. “Uh, Keith? You okay, man?”

“I thought your name was Taylor,” Keith said, letting his hands fall away from his face. “I don’t even know where I got that from.”

Now it was Lance’s turn to groan and cover his face with his hands. “T-A-I-L-O-R,” he said, his voice muffled by his hands. “Not Taylor. It was this dumb nickname I came up with a few years ago and Hunk still uses it to tease me sometimes.”

Keith snickered, and Lance lowered his hands enough that he could send him a glare. Then Lance’s eyes widened.

“Wait, wait, so does that mean you  _do_ remember me?”

“Of course I remember you. I found you lying in an aisle of the department store I work at.” 

Lance groaned again, running his hand over his face. “I spend  _months_ trying to get your attention and of course   _that’s_ the thing you remember—”   
  
“What?”

“Nothing!” Lance said, a bit too quickly. “Nothing, nothing, just talking to myself.”

“You were trying to get my attention?”

“I never said that!”

“Yes you did!”

“Nope, nuh uh, don’t remember, didn’t happen.”

Keith opened his mouth to protest, but was distracted by a small fluffy object barreling into him. Red let out a  _mrow_ and Lance’s face immediately lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“Red! It’s so good to see you, baby girl!”

Red let out a pleased rumble in response, and Keith had to hold her back from trampling his keyboard. He set his computer on top of a stack of books on the coffee table and moved Red into a comfortable position on his lap. She let out a disgruntled huff as she lay down, flicking one of her ears back.

“Oh, stop being such a drama queen,” Keith murmured, stroking her russet fur. “So, uh, what movie did you wanna watch?” He glanced back up at the computer screen to find Lance watching him with a strange, dazed look on his face. “Lance?”

Lance’s eyes widened, and Keith noticed there was a bit of red dusting his cheeks.

“You okay?” Keith asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance said, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s just… I dunno, you’re… different.”

“Different?” Keith frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, for a guy who runs around wearing a leather jacket, fingerless gloves and a  _mullet,_ of all things, you’re kind of a major softie.” Lance’s face flushed red again and he looked away, clasping his hands together in front of his face. “But, yeah, anyways. Movies. Got any suggestions?" 

Keith shrugged. “I’m up for anything.”

“I think I know just the thing,” Lance said.

Keith followed Lance’s instructions on how to set up the movie stream, and Lance put on a movie chock-full of explosions and cheesy one-liners, most of which Lance imitated in a terrible impression of the main character’s deep, rough voice. Keith lost track of the plot of the movie halfway through (though to be honest, he wasn’t really sure there had been a plot to begin with) but he found himself smiling and laughing nearly the entire time nonetheless, mostly due to Lance’s commentary and terrible impersonations.

“Keith? Buddy? You still with me?” Lance asked after a while.

Keith’s eyes fluttered open, though he didn’t remember closing them. “Hmm? Yeah, ’m here.” He had lie down on the couch to make himself more comfortable, with his legs dangling over the arm of the couch and Red curled up against his side. His eyes drifted back to the movie screen, and he frowned as he noticed it had gone dark. “What happened to the movie?”

Lance laughed softly. “It’s over, man. You even slept through the credits.”

“Oh,” Keith mumbled, rubbing his hands over his eyes. “Did, uh, what’s-his-face win?”

“Of course,” Lance said in his deep-voiced impression of the main character, and Keith chuckled, a content smile finding its way onto his face. Lance sighed. “We should probably get to bed now, huh?” 

“Mm-hm,” Keith said, closing out of the movie window and pulling up the video chat again, wanting to see Lance one last time. His heart fluttered as Lance’s face appeared onscreen again, and Lance’s eyes widened as they met Keith’s. “Goodnight, Lance,” Keith said sleepily.

Lance’s eyebrows drew together and his mouth dropped open slightly, then his lips pulled into a fond, lopsided smile. “’Night, Mullet.”

 

\---

 

As Lance expected, he didn’t have a chance to talk to Keith much over the next few days.

He made it back to his apartment in Altea City on a rainy Friday afternoon. Hunk had gotten back the morning before him, and he gave Lance a bright smile as Lance entered the apartment, oversized dark blue suitcase in tow.

“Hey, man! How was— oh no, you’ve got the face.”

Lance frowned, pulling the suitcase to a stop and pushing the handle in. “What face?”

“The ‘I’m-probably-overthinking-and-worrying-about-something’ face.”

“I have a face for that?”

“Oh, yeah. Can’t miss it. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Lance said, making his way over to the couch and slumping down on it.

“Hmm, yeah, no. Try again,” Hunk said, sitting down next to him.

“I mean it! Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine. Just peachy. Told Keith I’m back in town and I’m going to pick up Red later, so both of us can just move on with our lives.” Lance waved his hand dismissively, then crossed his arms over his chest and one leg over the other.

Hunk hummed. “You know, you have a Keith face too.”

Lance choked on air, sitting up and sending Hunk an offended look. “I do not!”

“Lots of Keith faces, actually. Like back in Astrology, you had this kind of longing one when you looked at him and thought no one was watching, and this riled-up defensive one whenever you talked to him, but my favorite one is the more recent ‘Keith face number nine,’ this super fond expression you have when you talk about how great he is.”

“I— I absolutely do not— I do not have a Keith face!”

“Ah, the classic ‘Keith face number five,’ an exaggerated version of the blushy, defensive mess you turn into whenever someone asks you about Keith.”

“Hunk,” Lance whined, slumping in on himself.

“You don’t make these faces with anyone else, man. My point is, as much as you try to pretend you don’t care about Keith, you  _do._ I got your texts over the holidays, dude. You’re totally pining.”

“I am absolutely not pining for Keith!”

Hunk raised his eyebrows in an incredulous look, then pulled out his phone, clearing his throat. “December twenty-second, seven fifty-nine pm. I quote: ‘Hunk, Keith is actually really freaking cute, what do I do?’ With no less than five typos, and in all caps.”

“Alright, alright, fine!” Lance said, standing up and throwing his hands into the air. “So maybe I have a tiny crush on Keith.”

“Understatement of the year, but we’re making progress.”

Lance draped himself over the back of the couch, his upper half hanging upside down against the couch cushion. “Can you believe it? I fell for a guy with a  _mullet,_ of all things.”

Hunk snorted. “Oh, please. You’ve had a thing for that guy’s hair since the moment you laid eyes on him.”

Lance gasped, sending Hunk an indignant look. “ _Excuse_ you, I do not have a   _thing_ for Keith’s hair. I was just— I mean, who the heck has a mullet in this day and age? And not only that, but the guy somehow manages to make it look   _good_ and— stop giving me that look!” Lance scowled as he turned his attention back to the TV, pointedly ignoring Hunk’s knowing grin. Hunk nudged his shoulder and Lance let out a defeated sigh, knowing that Hunk wasn’t going to let it go without the truth. “...Alright, so maybe his mullet isn’t so bad after all.”

Hunk hummed, turning back to the TV with a too-smug smile. “So, hair aside… what do you like about Keith?”

Lance let out the breath he had been holding, some of the tension in his shoulders falling away. “He’s just… he’s so different from what I expected, but in a good way. Like, when I first met him, he just seemed kind of… perfect, you know? Good at everything, cool, confident, cold and distant…”

“You put him on a pedestal,” Hunk said.

“Yeah. I— I guess I did. I guess that’s why I started the whole rivalry thing.”

“Well, that and so you could show off to get his attention.”

Lance glared at Hunk, and Hunk returned his gaze with a brilliant smile. “But, anyways, now that I’ve actually  _talked_ to him, he’s just… he feels so much more   _real,_ you know? Like he’s— he’s warm, and kind, and funny, super awkward, actually kind of a dork…”

“Man, I  _told_ you Keith was funny, and you never believed me!” Hunk said, jabbing his elbow into Lance’s side.

“Alright, alright, you’re right!”

“I usually am,” Hunk sniffed. “What else?”

Lance was quiet for a moment. “He just… I never feel like I’m not enough or too much when I’m talking to him. I don’t feel like I have to pretend to be something I’m not, you know? And he actually listens to me, but he isn’t afraid to call me out when I’m wrong. He makes me want to be a better person, but not like, a different person, you know? And a few days before I had to leave, we had a video chat, and at the end of it he just— he gave me this look, Hunk, and it just was so  _warm_ and   _fond_ and I—” Lance’s voice cracked and he took a breath to compose himself. “I just… I never thought someone would look at me like that.”

Hunk hummed thoughtfully, and for a moment, silence fell between them. “You should ask him out,” Hunk said suddenly.

Lance let out an undignified squeak, slipping off of his perch on top of the couch and landing on his feet behind it. “You say that like it’s so easy!”

“Why shouldn’t it be? You obviously really like him, why not go for it?”

“I— I can’t just—! What if he’s, like, I don’t know, weirded out or something?”

“I don’t think he would be, he seems like a good guy. And if he’s not, better to find out sooner than later, right? Just go for it.”

Lance groaned, running his hands through his hair. “Fine. Fine. I’ll— when I go back to pick up Red today, I’ll ask him out. Oh my god, I’m going to ask out Keith Kogane.”

 

\---

 

 _3:15_  
_Keith: hey  
__can we talk?_  

_Shiro: Uh oh.  
_ _What’s up kiddo?_

_Keith: Don’t call me that_

_Shiro: Ok.  
_ _What’s up small fry?_

_Keith: Shiro I’m gonna kick your ass_

_Shiro: Language >:( _

_Keith: ok so  
_ _there’s this guy_

_Shiro: ohhhh ;)_

_Keith: SHIRO_

_Shiro: sorry sorry please continue_

_Keith: and I think I like him and I don’t know what to do_

_Shiro: ohhhhhh ;))))_

_Keith: you know what forget it I’m gonna talk to Adam instead_

 

_3:23  
_ _Keith: I hate both of you_

_Shiro: How’d it go kiddo?_

_Keith: If I see one more winky face emoji I’m gonna launch myself into the sun_

 

In hindsight, Keith probably should have anticipated his phone immediately lighting up with winking emojis from both Shiro and Adam.

 

_Keith: (image sent)  
_ _DID YOU PLAN THIS_

_Shiro: ;)  
_ _So what’s the problem? You like him, so ask him out._

_Keith: this from the guy who pined after Adam for literal YEARS_

_Shiro: Alright alright touché._

_Keith: I don’t want to lose him Shiro. And I know I’ll lose him if I do nothing but I’m scared_

_Shiro: I know it’s scary to put yourself out there, but if you really like this guy, I think you should go for it. You might never know if you don’t try._  

_Keith: alright. I’ll try  
_ _thanks Shiro_

_Shiro: Good luck kiddo :)_

_Keith: STOP CALLING ME THAT_

 

_\---_

 

Lance took a deep breath as he walked up the stairs to Keith’s apartment, trying to get his nerves under control. He noticed his hands were shaking, and he quickly shoved them into the pockets of his jacket.

He stepped up to the door and raised his hand to knock, then hesitated and backed away, running his hands through his hair.

 _Get it together, McClain,_ he told himself silently.   _Just knock on the door. One step at a time._

He took another deep breath and rapped his fist against the door. He was immediately greeted with a loud meow and the sound of scratching at the bottom of the door, followed by Keith’s muffled voice exclaiming  _“Red, no!”_

Lance chuckled softly, some of his nervousness dissolving. There was the sound of shuffling on the other side of the door, then it swung open to reveal a flustered looking Keith holding an overly excited russet ball of fur. Red leapt from Keith’s arms and bounded up to Lance, rubbing against his legs with a purr.

“Aww, Red,” Lance said, scooping her up and kissing the top of her head, “I missed you, baby girl.”

“She missed you too,” Keith said. Lance looked up to find Keith giving him and Red that soft, fond look, and Lance’s stomach twisted into a knot. “I had to put down a blanket in front of the door for her because she kept lying there, waiting for you.”

“Aww, did you miss me?” Lance cooed, booping Red’s nose. She let out an offended meow, flicking one ear back in annoyance. “Thank you so much again for watching her,” Lance said to Keith. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.” 

“It was nothing,” Keith said, looking away and fidgeting with the sleeves of his jacket.

 _Alright,_ Lance thought, sucking in a deep breath.   _Now or never._

“Keith—” Lance said, at the exact same moment Keith said Lance’s name. They both looked away awkwardly, and Lance ran his free hand through his hair, his heart pounding against his chest.

“Sorry,” Keith said. “You go ahead.”

“Alright,” Lance said, fidgeting with his hair, the hood of his jacket, and the buttons on his sleeves. “Alright. Cool cool cool. So uh.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was wondering if maybe… you’d like to go out to dinner with me?”

Keith was silent for a long moment, his mouth dropping open in surprise. Lance stood his ground, his heart in his throat, suppressing the urge to vault himself over the railing and take off running in the opposite direction.

“Did… do you mean like as a date, or…?” Keith asked finally.

Part of Lance (a very large part, actually) wanted to brush it off and deny it, but he had made it this far and he wasn’t going to give up now.

“Yeah,” Lance said, the breath leaving his lungs in a whoosh. “Or, like, if you wanted, it could just be a totally planetonic— platonic thing. Or if that’s too awkward now—” 

“No, no, that’s fine. That’s great,” Keith said, his lips pulling into a smile.

“Yeah?” Lance asked. “Wait, do you mean yes to the date, or—”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Keith said, letting out a nervous laugh and running his hand through his hair. “I was actually just going to ask you the same thing.”

Lance stared at him for a moment, stunned. “What, seriously!?”

Keith smirked. “Just had to beat me to the punch, huh?”

“You’re the one who told me to go ahead!”

“Well I wasn’t expecting you to ask me out!”

Lance snorted, then dissolved into a fit of nervous, giddy laughter, and Keith joined in, leaning against the doorframe.

“Oh my god, you were going to ask me out. You liiiike me,” Lance sung.

“Yeah, I do,” Keith said quietly, looking down at the ground as his face flushed scarlet.

Lance stared at him, his mouth dropping open as the weight of realization hit him. “ _Oh_ my   _god,_ you were going to ask me out. You   _like_ me.”

“Yeah, we’ve uh, we’ve established that already,” Keith said, meeting Lance’s gaze with a lopsided smile. “So… when do you wanna do this?”

“Uh,” Lance said, his head starting to spin a bit because  _he was going on a date with Keith._ “You free tomorrow night?”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright, cool,” Lance said, grinning so much that his face was starting to hurt. “Oh, hold on, I’ve still gotta pay you back for watching Red.” 

“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, it was nothing.” 

“You sure?”

“How about you buy me dessert tomorrow and we’ll call it even?”

Lance grinned. “Deal. I’ll see you then?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, with that soft, fond smile that was probably going to be the death of Lance one of these days.

Lance turned to leave, but Red immediately started squirming in his arms and jumped out of them. She sat down halfway between Lance and Keith, giving Lance an expectant look. 

“Red, we’ve gotta go now, baby girl,” Lance said softly.

“Maybe…” Keith rubbed the back of his neck, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. “If you wanted, you could stay over for a while?”

 

\---

 

After watching a few movies that Lance had trouble paying attention to, he found himself sitting on the couch with Keith curled into his side, both of them bathed in the soft glow of the TV screen. Keith had fallen asleep partway through the current movie with his head resting on Lance’s shoulder, his fingers still tangled up in Red’s fur as she lay across both of their laps. Lance tugged the soft blanket higher over Keith’s shoulders and closed his eyes, a soft, content smile finding its way onto his lips.

And in that moment, and so many more after that, everything was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Feel free to hmu on twitter (genericdancer) or on tumblr (genericpaladin) and I hope you have a great day!


End file.
